Nikki?
by mrsdowneyjunior
Summary: After a long day of work, Kate Beckett walks into a nearby coffee shop, where Castle is getting his late night caffiene fix.


**Hey guys. I'm Ellie, I'm new to this site. I've had this sitting on my computer for a while, and though I might publish it, just as an ice-breaker to the website. Also, I'd love any critique you might have. And I'm Australian so there might be some Australian vs. American spelling in there, so either ignore it or correct it in your head, but I tend to not change it, sorry.**

**Disclaimer: ha.**

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><p>Katherine Beckett pulled her coat around her tighter as a defense against the snowy winter-y chill of night in New York City as she made her way towards a nearby coffee shop. She'd spent three hours longer at the precinct than she originally planned to, but the case she was working on was a child case and she had such a hard time taking breaks from that kind, even for the three or four hour sleep.<p>

For such a cold night, there were a lot of people in the shop. She gave the waitress a small smile before ordering a large skim vanilla latte, and paused before telling the woman "Nikki" when they asked for her name.

There was a loud cough from behind Kate and she turned quickly, only to see the face she'd seen far too much (or not enough) of in the past three years. His chiseled face held a smirk in greeting, and after thinking about it for no longer than a second, Kate slapped her hand to her mouth, her face rapidly gaining colour.

"Nikki… really?" he asked, the smile apparent in his voice.

"Well… I thought I'd try it. Just once," she replied with a half-hearted glare. "Only once," she repeated, when he looked at her a little harder.

"Don't be _embarrassed _by it, Miss Heat," Castle said, the smirk on his face growing wider and wider. "I mean, I can see the appeal in wanting to be just like her and-"

Kate cut him off with a harsh look.

"Don't go there Castle."

The barista called out "Nikki," before Castle could get a pout in. Kate gave him a tight lipped smile before reaching out to grab her coffee, only she never got that far because Castle slammed his hand over hers, into the table. Kate's eyes jolted to his.

"Have coffee with me?" he asked.

Kate could see the sincerity of his question shining from behind his eyes. Not wanting to make him feel too happy about himself, she gave an eye roll before nodding and yanking her hand away, grabbing her coffee and taking a long sip.

The elation Richard Castle felt at her "yes" was incredible. It sounded incredibly cheesy, he knew, but his stomach fluttered happily at the thought of spending time with her on this unremarkably cold night. He knew that she'd been spending far too much time at the precinct recently for his liking.

There had been an overflow of cases and although she would loathe admitting to it, Beckett had been running on coffee and an average of four hours of sleep for almost two weeks now, and he couldn't stand it. Which was why he though it selfish that he would ask to be here with her now, drinking coffee at 11PM.

Not that it bothered him too much, if she was going to stay.

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><p>After Castle had his coffee, he led Beckett to a nearby table, pulling out her chair in a melodramatic fashion, bowing to her once she had sat down. She rolled her eyes, but a curve graced the corner of her shiny lips, giving her away.<p>

Castle sat down at the chair opposite and took a long sip from the mug, and sighed as the caffeine warmed his stomach. Looking over, he could see that Beckett was doing the same.

"Are you here straight from the precinct?" Castle asked. Beckett nodded.

"Rough case? Sorry I couldn't come in today. It's been pretty rough at home packing for Alexis, I mean, she leaves tomorrow!" Castle said.

"No… no, it's fine. We've been doing alright, actually. Chased down a suspect today, but he alibied out. He's given us another name though, so that's something," Beckett replied, sounding empty. No… not empty… she sounded tired. Exhausted, even.

"Kate, you need to sleep. Really, look at you. You're physically exhausted," he said suddenly. It was true, Beckett's usual perfect posture had drooped, her fingers around the coffee mug were slack and her face had lost its usual direct focus. Her eyes looked murky, and the bags underneath them were shocking.

"Did you drive here?" Beckett shook her head.

"Cars at the precinct," she murmured, suddenly aware of the fact that she was sitting with Castle, knees touching in a small, intimate coffee shop around the corner from her precinct. The though made her cheeks flush, and a small shiver run up her spine in delight. And she didn't even know why.

"Alright, I can drive you home later," Castle replied. Kate gave a small nod of her head in confirmation.

The pair remained in a comfortable silence as they downed the rest of their coffees. Castle was looking out the nearby window, every now and then glancing at Beckett, whose eyes were fixed solely on the shaky fingers wrapped firmly around her mug, not daring to look up, fully aware that he continued to sneak glances at her.

After they'd both finished, Castle stood up, offering his arm for her to loop hers through, a request she fulfilled.

"Now, to your apartment, Miss Heat?" Castle said, his smirk returning. Kate felt too tired to argue, but she did narrow her eyes at him, not willing to let it slide completely, and let the man lead her to a car park a block away.

"The car will be here any minute, I hope," Castle murmured in the cold, winter air. Kate didn't bother replying, shivering as a wind hit. Compulsively, Castle wrapped his arms around the woman, and he tried to tell himself that it was to keep her warm, but, if he was being honest with himself, which he usually tried to be, he just wanted her in his arms.

She didn't argue as she was swept into his arms, sighing happily as his warmth engulfed her.

To an onlooker, this probably looked quite awkward, with Kate's back pressed into Rick's front, his arms wrapped tightly around, but neither of the involved found it awkward, just comfortable. Just them.

It took another ten minutes for the car to actually arrive and Rick let Kate in the back seat first, before climbing in after her. He gave the driver the address to his partner's apartment building, before returning his arms to around Kate again.

The heater was on in the car, and inside it it wasn't particularly cold, but he needed her in his arms, and she missed his warmth. The ride to her apartment seemed a lot shorter than usual as there was no real traffic at 11:30PM, and soon it was time for Rick to say goodbye.

She left his arms, climbing out the door.

"Until tomorrow, Nik-" Castle stopped at her look. "Until tomorrow, _Detective_," he corrected himself.

"Goodnight Rick," she said casually, albeit tiredly. She leaned in to press a quick kiss to his cheek, before turning around and walking quickly into the lobby of her apartment building, leaving Richard Castle dazed and surprised.

He pressed his hand to his cheek, wondering what he had done to deserve such a perfect woman, and how long it would take for her to rip that god-damned wall down.

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><p><strong>Penny for your thoughts?<strong>


End file.
